Freya pips Twell at the post

TWO years ago Freya Murray, seeking to ignite her athletics career, linked up with former London Marathon winner Steve Jones at his high-altitude base in the hills of Colorado. His regime, she says, is "not complicated or overly scientific." Based on the evidence presented in Birmingham yesterday, simplicity is the way to go.

Murray, now 26, found herself in a two-way duel in Cofton Park with fellow Scotland international Steph Twell in the closing stages of the UK trials for this month's world cross-country championships. The prodigious Twell, bidding to defend her title, is ferociously competitive. However her Midlothian-born rival demonstrated her own enhanced powers by sticking rigidly to the 20-year-old before surging clear to win over the final 500 metres.

Both women head to Poland in a fortnight as part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, with Faye Fullerton taking the third automatic qualifying place. European champion, Hayley Yelling, who missed the trials through illness will likely join them once the selectors finalise their team.

Murray revelled in a victory that surpassed her expectations and which complements the Scottish and South African championships she has already won this year.

She said: "I felt so good out there. My training's gone well and I felt confident. And when I came down the last sprint, I thought 'I'm going to win this'. I was over the moon."

European silver medallist Mo Farah dominated the senior men's 12k race to end up well clear of Andy Vernon. Scottish junior champion Callum Hawkins of Kilbarchan came third in the Under-20 trials after fading behind winner Richard Goodman on the final lap. While Glasgow's Beth Potter may also get the nod for the junior women's event in Bydgoszcz despite missing out on an automatic berth.

Meanwhile, Jessica Ennis added the world indoor title to the outdoor crown she won last year by delivering pentathlon gold for Great Britain in Doha. Living up to her billing as favourite, the Sheffield-born star led from start to finish and set personal bests in the shot putt and long jump to deflate Ukraine's Olympic champion Nataliya Dobrynska. Ennis needed to run 2.08:05 in the 800 metres to eradicate Irina Belova's 18-year-old world record. Instead she settled for a new championship-best of 4,937 points.

"It is very special to win here and break the record," she said. "I had a great year in 2009 so everyone was expecting me to win. I missed the world record in the long jump. This is an event in which I struggled in the past few years. It feels great to beat the three medallists from Beijing. I know the world record is within reach."

Dwain Chambers doubled Britain's gold tally with victory in the 60 metres, the sprinter's time of 6.48 seconds enough to hold off Mike Rodgers and Daniel Bailey. Ethiopia's Meseret Defar became the first woman to win four successive world indoor titles in the 3,000 metres. Lee McConnell believes Britain's women can challenge for 400m relay gold today.